6 Impossibe Things
by huffle-bibin
Summary: Every day she stands on the bow of Wonder, staring into the unknown. But why does she cry?


Title: Six Impossible Things

Summary: Every day she stands on the bow of _Wonder_, staring into the unknown. But why does she cry?

Alice x Hatter

Song: The Finish Line by Train

"_When we learn how to fly, we forget how to walk"_

Every day she stands on the bow of _Wonder_, staring into the unknown, her eyes always damp from the sea water. Memories from a different world played across her mind, reminding her of the first time she had been truly happy since her father's death. She stood there with the Hatter's crazy laugh filling her ears and she cried. She cried for her lost friends, her lost family, her one last connection to her father.

Not her truly last connection she would remember with a watery smile. She had _Wonder_, and her business in China. And she had her six impossible things. Every morning they would be the same.

One: There are drinks that can make you shrink

Two: And cakes that can make you grow

Three: Animals can talk

Four: There is a cat that can disappear

Five: There is such a thing as Wonderland. I've been there.

Six: Twice

It wasn't until her newest venture that her six began to vary. A stunningly blue butterfly landed on her shoulder one morning as if its only purpose in life was to pale the blue of her traveling coat. No one noticed her first genuine smile since her unengagement party as she whispered to the brilliant butterfly. After he flitted away she began her six impossible things.

One: There are drinks that can make you shrink

Two: And cakes that can make you grow

Three: Animals can talk

Four: I can remember going to Wonderland twice

Five: I left Wonderland by drinking Jabberwoky blood

Six: Absolem left Wonderland too

On the journey back to London, a nasty storm hit _Wonder_, one that surprised everyone but her. It was Frabjous day as she knew, and any number of brilliantly mad things could happen. Her six changed again with the rain (that tasted strangely of tea and stained the decks a pale purple) pounding against her face.

One: There are drinks that can make you shrink

Two: And cakes that can make you grow

Three: Animals can talk

Four: I left Wonderland

Five: Absolem left Wonderland too

Six: Someone else could too

They pulled into port exactly three days and sixteen minutes after the Frabjous day storm ended. Five deckhands had been lost during the storm and another three had informed her that they did not plan on returning with her to China. She accepted their resignations with grace before giving everyone, even those three, two weeks of paid vacation. Those in her employ stood shocked as she walked away, her six things morphing yet again.

One: There are drinks that can make you shrink

Two: And cakes that can make you grow

Three: Animals can talk

Four: I left Wonderland

Five: Absolem left Wonderland too

Six: I want to go back

Her time back on land consisted mainly of walking and thinking. Every day her memory-dreams got stronger, to the point where she would wake up with the taste of the March Hare's tea in her mouth and the feel of her armor heavy on her shoulders. The dreams lasted longer too, sometimes dragging on well into the evening. This was when her six impossible things shifted again.

One: There are drinks that can make you shrink

Two: And cakes that can make you grow

Three: Animals can talk

Four: I left Wonderland

Five: I want to go back

Six: Wonderland is pulling me back

She had no desire to go back to sea, but her first mate reminded her that their budding business in China needed their watchful eyes. Reluctantly she put out a call for deckhands, interviewing each one. The first seven positions filled quickly, but the eighth just wouldn't fill. There was an abundance of applicants, but none seem to be a fit for _Wonder_. She sighed as the newest applicant walked in for his interview.

"Name?" she asked briskly, not looking at the man.

"Tarrant Hightopp," the man said cheerfully. She could hardly believe her ears. It was just wishful thinking, her mind projecting fantasies she told herself. She refused to get her hopes up just because his voice was the same as- no. She would not even let herself think about him.

"Age?" she questioned again, eyes still focused on the plain wood of the table.

"Time never seems to run properly in Underland- it goes sideways and upways but never the right way, so I've never really known," he replied, a manic grin in his crazy rhyme. She shook her head to clear her mind of this delusion. Now she was projecting his way of speaking onto the poor (and terribly confused, she was sure) man in front of her.

She skipped over the majority of the questions a new applicant would have to answer, setteling for, "Do you have any questions?"

"Have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?" he promptly responded.

She looked up from the desk with a gasp. There he was, standing in front of her. It was true that he had on no face paint and his orange curls were brown and dull from lack of washing, but it was him. He was there, right in front of her, holding his hat in his battered hands, staring at her with his crazy mismatched eyes.

"Hatter?" she asked, hope injecting her tone with life.

"I'm investigating things that start with the letter M," he replied, grinning.

"Oh, it really is you!" she exclaimed, hugging him excitedly.

"But this is impossible," she continued, her voice now troubled.

"Only if you believe it is," he replied seriously, sadness crossing his face.

"It's not that I'm not happy, really I am," she backpedaled. "But I only wondered how you got here. It's all so curious."

"That's quite simple. The Jabberwocky had much more blood then simply the vial the White Queen gave you," he said, visably brightening.

"How did you find me?" she asked again, offering him a chair.

"You have your muchness," he replied.

Seeing her confused expression he continued, "Not many people in Overland have their muchness."

"It's so good to have you here Hatter. I've missed all of Wonderland so much!" she exclaimed after their conversation reached a lull.

"You didn't forget me, us, like last time?" he asked slowly.

"No. I could _never_ forget you," she replied seriously, grabbing her hand.

"So come back to Underland," he replied, gripping her hand tightly while standing up.

"What an utterly crazy, brilliant idea," she smiled. "But I have business to attend to here."

"Then I'll stay with you. You're always the right size here," he decided, sitting back down.

"I'd like that very much," she replied, pulling him into a hug.

"I've missed you Hatter," she whispered into his ear.

"I've missed you too," he whispered back. "Alice."

The next morning they were back to sea, seven of the new deckhands hard at work. The eighth was standing on the prow with the captain, thinking up impossible things.

One: There are drinks that can make you shrink

Two: And cakes that can make you grow

Three: Animals can talk

Four: Wonderland exists

Five: I left because I had to

Six: The Hatter left to find me


End file.
